One Step At a Time
by Rockin'ItMeStyle
Summary: Kagome always thought InuYasha loved Kikyo more than her. It was believable, of course, but it still hurt. And then one night while Kagome is wandering aimlessly through the forest, everything just happens to chance one step at a time...


One Step At A Time-

It was so cold here... I didn't know why. _Why do I linger here? _I didn't belong here, in this time, in this world of make-believe. It was all a dream, and at some point I would wake up. The silence that enveloped me made me nervous, so I stood and began walking forward aimlessly. There was almost no time for staying still and relaxing. There was a major player to this game, the man who pulled all the strings, who was the master-puppeteer. His name was Naraku, and his intentions were clear: collect all of the Sacred Jewel shards and kill anyone that stood in his way.

I came here a long time ago, and here is where I met InuYasha. I sighed. It was a sad sound, and a white cloud came from my mouth and faded. I shivered and crossed my arms tightly over my chest. Our meeting was a... violent one. Our relationship now though, it was complicated. Fragile. At any moment he could break away from me and decide to never come back. _ But shouldn't it be that way? I don't belong with him, he doesn't belong with me. _

This was proved to be true when Kikyo was reborn, with the help of my soul, that is. Kikyo had been InuYasha's lover over fifty years ago, and when Naraku framed him and killed Kikyo, well it turned the two against each other. Apparently I was a reincarnation of Kikyo. The only difference? I was born in modern day Japan.

"Hey, Kagome," InuYasha ran up beside me, his steps light and quick, and matched his stride to mine. I let out a little yelp of surprise. "Why are you here? I thought you would be back in your time."

"I got lost," I mumbled, crossing my arms even tighter. We kept walking for a little while in silence. And then, wordlessly, InuYasha pulled off his kimono and put it over my shoulders. I glanced at him in surprise and he shrugged, still staring straight ahead.

"It's almost winter," He said matter-of-factly. "I know how cold it is. It just doesn't really affect me as much as it does you."

I nodded and slipped my arms through the sleeves. "Maybe we should get back to Kaede for tonight."

"Wait," He walked ahead of me and then turned, blocking my path. He placed his hands on my shoulders, making sure I didn't try and walk around him. He stood there for a moment, and then laughed at himself. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I was... looking for you," He said slowly, looking for the right words. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

_This is going to be just like the last time, _I thought miserably. _He's going to try and send me home._

"About?" I prompted. I really didn't want to know. But this was one of those awful times when my curiosity got the best of me, and I was again, left clueless and anticipating something horrible.

"About... well... I wanted to talk to you about... us?" He trailed off a little, hesitating almost between every word, and ended up making it sound like a question. I stared up at him, my eyes wide, my face surely expressing all of the shock I felt. He glanced at me and then looked up at the sky and sighed.

"Its that, well, I _do _like you, Kagome," He looked down at me again, and then instead of holding my shoulders, he took both of my hands in his. I still stared at him, unable to speak but wanting to say so much. "And I think maybe, that we could try...?"

"What about Kikyo?" I said, my voice coming out in more of breathy whisper.

"I love her too," He admitted sadly. I laughed and tried to pull away from him, but he held my hands tighter and pulled me closer to him. "But she's my past."

"What about me? What am I?" I demanded, my voice getting stronger.

"I was hoping you could be my future." He said quietly.

I was shocked into silence again. I was expecting plenty of things. I was expecting him to tell me to go home. I was expecting him to laugh at how I feel for him. I was was expecting him to tell me how little I meant to him and how much more he loved Kikyo than he loved me, if he even did at all. So, this was definitely shocking.

"Kagome? Are you okay?"

"No," I whispered. "No, I'm not okay. I thought- well, I thought-" I shook my head and squeezed my eyes shut. I wanted very badly to run and hide, but I knew he would easily find me. I shook my head again and opened my eyes to stare up at him.

"Why? Why are you telling me this now?" I demanded.

He grimaced. "I'm not good at this,"

"Good at what?" I asked suspiciously.

He leaned toward me and pressed his lips to mine. He released my hands and wrapped his arms around my waist. My hands clenched into fists by my sides, but then they relaxed, and I finally began to kiss him back. I wrapped my arms around his neck and silently chastised myself in my head.

_You have no idea what you're getting yourself into, Kagome._

_Oh, yes I do._

InuYasha pulled back only a fraction of an inch and smiled at me. "One step at a time?" He asked me.

I smiled back at him. "Sounds good to me."


End file.
